Foreign Bonds
by Shukakugirl
Summary: This is a story about three characters I created visiting the Naruto world. I hope the story is good and that my readers enjoy it.
1. Preface

Before this part begins

Okay, I started the first part of foreign bonds planning on doing three or four, but I've discovered that I can't stand the x-men universe, and I much prefer the naruto one, so I'm starting with what was supposed to be the second part. There is very little that you need to know from the former first part except for the fact that, at one point, Raila helped Jason and Ukobi blow up a radiation plant and she got hit with most of the radiation. If there is anything else that you find confusing, let me know. I will upload the first three chapters of Foreign Bonds Part II later on today.

I really think the story telling in general is better in this one, and I would also like the readers help on one task. I created these characters to be realistic, and I don't want them to seem Mary Sue-ish, so if you think they are like that, please let me know. I will do whatever I can to help alleviate that (although I don't think I really have that problem right now) or explain why that trait has to be there. Suffice it to say, Kai/Raila is not undefeatable, Jason is not a fighter, and Ukobi is just an idiot, which I hope is the first step to making them more normal. Also, though, Kai/Raila cannot change too much because then her background wouldn't make much sense, but I will try to keep her from being undefeatable.


	2. Prologue and Landing

**A/N**: Have you ever wondered about the period between Naruto's first real mission and the Chunnin exams. What happened between those times? Well, if you'll bear with the fact that I've set this story in Japan (Naruto's not actually in Japan, but since the writer is from Japan, it works) then I will tell you.

Prologue

This part of Foreign Bonds leads you on a powerful journey through Japan. To begin, I will reintroduce you to our characters. First is the oldest, Jason Hedgepeth. He is an American of six feet in height, with brown eyes and a brown Mohawk with white tips. He has lightly tanned skin and is seventeen years old. The other two are both sixteen. The older of the sixteen-year-olds is a Japanese boy named Ukobi Lailoken, who normally says his name backwards. He is very short for his age, being only 4 ft 9 in tall. He has shaggy black hair that looks as though it was badly cut and eyes so dark brown that they're almost black. His skin was also dark, but that was because he was Japanese. The other is Raila Miri, who also says her name backwards. She has black hair that reaches her waist and golden brown eyes. She is tall for a Japanese person, standing 5 ft 10 in because her dad is British. Together the three will work their way through dangerous travels, which will test their very will to live.

Poor Ukobi must save his birthplace from destruction while he is away from his friends. No one will help him to save these people, except for the young genin ninjas that he traveled to the village with. Will that be enough? Meanwhile, Jason must become the leader he never was in order to rescue the master of his new found friends, but when nearly all of his friends are unable to fight, he finds himself protecting them from the Death Dragon himself. In addition, Raila becomes a demon that lay dormant within her for so long. Starting when she sees her friend kidnapped and tries to rescue him, she ends up having to protect three children from death, facing it herself when she decides to admit her true relation to a hateful demon child. What will become of our three heroes, each facing his or her own challenge and separated from the people that they had traveled with for so long?

Chapter 1: Landing

Jason and Ukobi sat quietly talking to each other on the boat while Raila was somewhere up on the deck. The boat was on its way to Russia where the three would take a train and a ferry to the land of the hidden villages. Jason and Ukobi both wanted to ride a plane to Japan because they correctly thought that it would be faster. Raila, though, insisted on doing it her way. She said that it was because the boat could carry both her and her weights, but Jason thought it was for another reason. She hated planes, along with most forms of electrical travel. In truth, she had wanted to ride a boat for the whole trip to Japan, but she compromised with Ukobi in order to save time on their trip.

"Are you two going to sit there the entire trip?" Raila asked after they had been traveling a week.

"Why?" asked Ukobi. "What's there to do?" The boys hadn't left their cabin on the boat since leaving the states.

"Come with me," Raila said. She led the boys to a rope ladder, which led to the highest part of the ship, near the smoke stack. "You are not afraid of heights, are you?" she asked. Jason looked up the ladder and gulped. He motioned Ukobi forward.

"I'll wait here," he said. Ukobi looked at him, but then shrugged and followed Raila to the top of the ship. When they reached the top, Ukobi gasped. The view was incredible. For a long time, he stood there looking at the sun reflecting like glittering diamonds off the water. A short distance away, the shadow of land shimmered in the morning mist. Soon, they'd arrive on that land, but for now, there was only the sea. Ukobi called down to Jason.

"You've got to see this!" he said. "It's incredible."

"I'm fine," Jason said. "You enjoy the view." He stood there for a few more moments, but then went back into the cabin. Raila and Ukobi stayed where they were until they saw land in the distance. Upon seeing it, they looked at each other, smiling, and quickly climbed down to get their luggage.

A quick landing and departure later, the three were on their way to South Korea in a train. Once in South Korea, they'd ride a ferry to Japan. Raila, unable to stay inside for a very long time, took her chakra woven staff and stood between the railcars. For a long, she sat there, thinking of the time since she had left Japan. She had only been four at the time. She remembered one of her friends, a girl named Kai. The girl had died just before she left, or at least, everyone thought she had died, but really- …As if the memory had pulled a switch, Raila began to convulse. Her head began to hurt and her eyes began to twitch uncontrollably. Soon, she blacked out. When she came to, she felt like a different person. In fact, she was a different person.

When the nine-tailed fox attack came, Kai had not died. The reason for this was that Kai was a demon. The Demon of the Fangs, as a matter of fact, or Demonio del Colmillo. When the attack had come, the body of Kai had died, but Kai's spirit flew into the body of the nearest person, which happened to be Raila. As Kai, who had surfaced in Raila after almost twelve years, awoke, she began to shake her foggy head. _Where am I? _she thought. _I'm supposed to still be in her subconscious, unless she's dead._ Kai looked around and found herself laying flat between two train cars. _Where the heck am I? _What Kai was trying to figure out was how she was the dominant person in Raila's mind because Raila refused to respond to her thoughts. Then she remembered, _A chemical plant. The radiation. We've got to fix it._ Fortunately, Raila's body was already trying to fix the mental connections, but since that would take some time, Kai would have to be Raila until they reconnected.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted when Jason came out of the railcar.

"Are you ok, Rai?" he asked her. Kai didn't know how to answer. Was she ok? "Are you ok, Rai?" he repeated. Kai nodded shakily and put her head in her hands.

"I think so," she mumbled. Then, she went to the roof of the railcar in order to have time to think. Laying her staff across her lap, she watched as Jason went back inside. He was muttering to himself about how he was worried, but Kai paid no attention to him. She was trying to figure out how to be Raila. She began searching her memories, but couldn't come up with any of Raila's. All that seemed to surface where her own memories.


	3. The Memories of Kai

**A/N: **All flashbacks in this story are in italics. Also, all conversations in the flashbacks are in Japanese for this story, so they are written with no articles or contractions. This will also be how the conversation will be written in later chapters where the characters begin speaking in Japanese.

Chapter 2: The Memories of Kai

"_What are you doing here?" asked a young boy from Konohagakure. "You are not even from this village. What do you want?" Then, when Kai didn't answer, he threw a medium sized stone at her. It hit her in the back of the head as she turned to leave, and she fell forward. Her ratty brown hair had fallen into her eyes, blocking her vision. Her eyes were a deep hazelnut brown, and with those eyes, she looked sorrowfully at the boy who had hit her._

"_Young man," came the voice of the Third Hokage, recently retired. "Is this how you treat young lady who is lost?"_

"_But-" the boy began._

"_No excuses. Go home, and I will be along later to tell your parents what you have done." As the boy left sulking, the Third Hokage turned to Kai. "It is okay young lady," he said, helping her up. "He will not hurt you. What is your name?"_

"_I am Demonio del Colmillo, but people do not call me that," the girl said._

"_So, what should I call you?" the Hokage asked._

"_I am Kai." The Hokage smiled down at her and agreed. Then he called for a young girl who had just turned the corner._

"_Anko," he said. "Do you have moment?" The girl nodded and ran over to him._

"_Can I help you Sandai-sama?" she asked._

"_Would you please take Kai to doctor?" he asked. "And then get Minato," he whispered to her. "We will need to get member of Kirigakure, because that is where this girl is from. Her clothes are evidence of that." Anko nodded and led Kai away to the doctor. Once in the doctor's office, she laid Kai down on a bed, where she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion._

* * *

Kai coughed up smoke as the trains movement blew it into her face. The blowing whistle alerted her that they were probably close to a stop, and that she should get back into the railcar. She climbed down, still coughing up smoke, so she went to a bathroom on the train to wash out her throat. After cleaning her face and gargling several mouthfuls of water, Kai felt much better, so she went back into the railcar. Seeing Jason, she went to sit down beside him. Another boy, a short one, was sitting across from her.

"You alright Raila?" the short boy asked.

"Um, yes," Kai answered. "I'm just a little foggy from the trip, uh- um…Ukobi!"

"Maybe you need some rest before we get to Korea," he said.

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "You seem a little out of it."

"I think so too," Kai said. Then she curled up in her seat and fell asleep. Before she fell asleep though, she heard Jason ask Ukobi-

"Is it just me, or is Raila using contractions and fragments?"

"And slang," Ukobi pointed out.

* * *

_Kai awoke what she thought was a few minutes later, but it was actually the next morning. She heard two men talking by the foot of her bed._

"_Sarutobi said that she was from your village," one of the men said. The other man, Kai saw when she peeked through half-closed eyelids, wore a headband from the mist village._

"_I do not know who she is," the man from the Mist village said. "But her clothes are common to our village. Perhaps if we take her back, then we can find her family." Just then, Kai sat up in her bed._

"_No," she said to them. "I do not want to go back." The two men looked at her startled._

"_Why young girl?" the man from the Mist said. "Your parents must be worried. Surely you do not want them to worry."_

"_I am Kai, and I do not want to go back. My parents are dead anyway."_

"_Dead?" the other man, the one with the leaf headband, said. "How?"_

"_Probably died in attack, sir," the Mist man said. "We had bad attack recently. Someone killed half of village." Kai looked down as she quietly stood up._

"_Kai-chan," the other man said. "My name is Minato, and I am Fourth Hokage of Konoha." He got down so that he was looking right into her eyes. "Why do you not want to go back to your home village?"_

"_Because-" Kai stopped and eyed the door. It was wide open. She could run, so she made up a reason. "Cause Mist Village hates me!" With that, she broke out of the grip of a shocked Minato and swept past the man from the Mist village. They called for her to come back, but Kai didn't stop running. She ran forever, through grass as high as she was and rain that pounded her skull. For days, she ran until she reached an endless desert. Then her strength left her, and she began to slow down, but she still moved on. Finally, she couldn't carry her weight anymore, and she collapsed in the sand outside of a small village._

* * *

"Raila," called a voice. "We're here, get up." As Kai slowly awoke, her throat bone dry as though she had truly been running for days without water, she glanced around her and saw that she was on the train, and it had stopped. Ukobi was standing above her. "Raila," he said again. "Get up, we're here." Kai slowly got up and stretched. Then, grabbing her suitcase and staff, she left the train, trailing behind Ukobi and Jason.

After they rode shortly on a ferry, the group was on the island where the land of the villages was.


	4. Goodbye Technology

**A/N: **I know that technology actually exists in the Naruto world, as will be pointed out, but since we can't make things too easy for our characters, I had to find a way to get the technology away from them. Maybe they'll get it back, but for now, they're going to lose it.

Chapter 3: Good Bye Technology

"That's it," Ukobi complained. "Next time Raila gets the great idea to walk somewhere, we're riding a car." The trio was trudging over land that seemed to stretch forever, and the only change in the landscape was a large dark shape off to their left.

Not too long before they had been walking, the three had just gotten off the ferry from Korea. As they stepped off the ferry, they were met by a guard, which reminded Kai of an immigration guard. He stopped them and pulled them to the side.

"I'm sorry sirs and ma'am," the guard said to the group. "But I have to ask you, in order to get the complete thrill of being in an old Japanese village, to leave your luggage behind and change into one of those clothes over there." The man pointed to a rack of old Japanese clothing. Ukobi's face fell.

"Give up my technology?" Ukobi asked. "Do I have to?" The guard shook his head.

"It's not required, but I'm sure it would be a more enjoyable visit for you if you did." At first Ukobi firmly refused to give up his technology, but after some persuading from Kai and Jason, he did. Slowly, he began to put his technology into the large box the guard had provided. As he set each item into the box, he whispered good-bye to them.

"Good-bye PDA and GPS. Good-bye cell phone, game boy, and PSP. Good-bye I-pod, MP3-player, and music man. Good-bye laptop, flashlight, watch, and lighter. Good-bye ball point pen with a fully automated robot brain." As Ukobi put the last item in, he fell to the ground crying.

"You have a pen with a robot brain?" Jason asked. "What is your deal?" Ukobi just sobbed. "Get a hold of yourself. It's only for a week or two." As he said this, Jason put his cell phone and watch into the case with Ukobi's things. Kai had already put her chakra woven staff into the box, and was pulling a small burlap bag out of her suitcase before putting the suitcase in there as well. Jason started to ask what was in the bag, but before he could, Kai had left to exchange their money for some Yen. Jason put his suitcase in the box beside Kai and Ukobi's, and then went over to the clothing rack. He couldn't find anything that he liked, but as he looked, he heard the guard tell Ukobi that he could replace a few of the items that Ukobi had put into the box.

"What?" Ukobi cried excitedly.

"The GPS, the flashlight, and the pen."

"You can replace my ball point pen with a fully automated robot brain?" Ukobi asked hopefully. The guard nodded.

"This is a Jap-N-Eze Calligraphy pen with standard ink pot refill." Ukobi took the pen and ink pot, pouting. "Also, here is a map and a lantern." He also took those. Then he went over to Kai. He gave her the map and pen, but she wouldn't take the lantern.

"It won't fit in my bag," she said fastening the flap over her bag. "You'll have to leave it behind." Then she went over to the clothing rack. She glanced once or twice at Ukobi and picked out a blue shirt and a black pair of pants. She gave the clothes to Ukobi, and Ukobi was surprised. He went into the dressing room and changed as Kai picked another outfit out for Jason. She handed him several layers of red cloth in different shades, which may have been a shirt, and a pair of brown pants. She told him to put the shirt layers on in order from the lightest to darkest and sent him off to a dressing room as well. Then she chose a beige shirt and a pair of dark brown pants and changed in another dressing room. After all three had changed, they put the clothes they had been wearing into the box with their other things and Kai handed the boys a pair of shoes, returning to the rack to pick up a few changes of clothes. Jason and Ukobi looked at each other in surprise.

"I can't believe it," Ukobi said. "If I had seen this on the rack, I would have never worn it, but now that I am wearing it, I like it. How did Raila know what to get?"

"I don't know," Jason said. "But I feel the same way. I mean, this shirt has at least a million layers in it, and it kind of feels gaudy." He pulled on his sandals, and Ukobi did the same. "And of course, Raila looks perfect in her simple clothes."

"She always has looked good in those colors. Like earth tones I mean." Jason nodded in agreement and then pulled Ukobi to Kai over near the guard.

"A fingerprint will make sure that no one else takes your things out of the lock box," the guard had just finished saying. "We'll take finger print from all three of you, and if anyone of you shows up, we'll check his or her prints, and then, if they match, that person can get his or her stuff." He quickly took a thumbprint from each of the three, and then he asked, "Would you like a ride to one of the villages?"

"I thought that we would rather walk," Kai said, looking at Jason and Ukobi. Jason shrugged, and after a moment, Ukobi agreed. Therefore, the guard opened the gate and let them through. He waved at them as they left and started towards the villages.


	5. Coming Home, of Sorts

**A/N: **When Kai the demon surfaced, the narrator started calling her by that name, but as I'm sure you've noticed, Ukobi and Jason still called her Raila. As Kai was in Sunagakure before, the people there call her Kai because they sense her chakra, not because they actually recognize her. Remember, Kai looked different than Raila did. Any way, soon, I think, Jason will start calling her Kai, because he will figure out that the people here know her by that name.

This chapter is where the people start speaking Japanese, but Kai, Jason, and Ukobi will still speak English when they are talking to each other with no one else around. To make things easier, I just wrote what would be said in English, to save the annoyance of translating.

To save trouble, at one point in this story, I'm going to stop telling you when they return to speaking Japanese, so you should just assume that, unless it says they are speaking in English, they are speaking in Japanese.

Chapter 4: Coming Home, of Sorts

Ukobi lay down on a soft sand dune, and closed his eyes.

"I can't walk another step," he said.

"Let's rest here then," Kai said. She put the map back in her bag and looked for a place to hide while they slept.

"Raila, I have a question," Jason said. Kai looked up in question. "Um, up till now, you haven't ever spoke in contractions. Why?" Then, Kai remembered that Raila was a very proper girl, but Kai didn't think that she could be as proper as Raila was, so she made up an answer.

"I never talked proper when I was in Japan, so I'm not going to now, but I'll talk proper again when we leave," she said. Then she found a small desert bush. "We can sleep under there." She pointed the bush out to Jason, and with him, she crawled under the bush. Ukobi, too tired to get up, simply fell asleep where he was.

* * *

"Ow," Ukobi cried as someone kicked him in his side. "What's your problem, Jason?" he asked as he sat up and looked at the person who kicked him. It wasn't Jason, but rather, a boy with sandy blonde hair. "You're not Jason!" The boy stared.

"I am Kikoha of sand, who are you?" the boy asked, speaking in Japanese.

"Nice to meet you," Ukobi said uneasily in his own flawed Japanese. "Uh, guys," he called in English to Jason and Kai. "Can you wake up and help me?"

"Who are you?" the boy repeated.

"I am Ukobi."

"From what village."

"Village? I do not know that word."

"Village."

"Um, uh…uh I uh-" As the boy pulled out a kunai, Ukobi got even more nervous. "I- I'm uh…"

"He is from Sunagakure, as am I and our teammate," said Kai just then in fluent Japanese. She and Jason had crawled out from where they were sleeping, and Kai had put on a sand headband from her bag. "He is Ukobi of Sand, and I am Kai, and this is Jason-kun."

"I see that you have sand headband," Kikoha said, lowering his kunai. "But where are headbands of your teammates?"

"We came from Kumogakure, village hidden in clouds," Kai responded. "Kazekage-sama sent us there while ago, and we just returned. While we were there, Ukobi-kun and Jason-kun lost their hitai-ates, and Ukobi-kun lost much of his memory, so he is having trouble."

"What are you saying?" Ukobi asked.

"See?" Kai said. Kikoha looked back and forth between the team.

"Very well," he said. "But I will have to take you to Kazekage-sama first, to see if you speak truth."

"I would expect nothing else," Kai said. Jason, looking very nervous, pulled Kai to the side as Kikoha began to return to the Sand village.

"Raila," he said. "How are we supposed to get out of this? As soon as this Kazekage guy sees us, he'll know he didn't send us on a mission. And besides that, Ukobi doesn't speak Japanese."

"I can too speak Japanese!" Ukobi said angrily. "She just speaks too fast."

"So will they! So how are we going to convince Kazekage that we're from his village when you don't even speak the language?"

"Don't worry," Kai said. "I've been here before. Kazekage-sama knows me."

"And where did you get that headband?" Ukobi asked.

"When I was here before, I, well, borrowed it from a man, and I wasn't able to give it back."

"You stole it from him," Ukobi said.

"Of sorts. It was a joke, but before it took effect, I had to leave suddenly." She turned back to Jason. "Do you speak Japanese?"

"I took a few classes," he said. "I know enough."

"Then Ukobi, you just don't talk for now."

"Hurry up you three," Kikoha called back to the group. The three ran quickly to catch up with him. As they entered the village, past two guards at the gate, Kai began recognizing places. She was truthful when she had said she was here before.

* * *

_Kai awoke from her journey, and found herself in a small bed. As she sat up, she found that she was surrounded by a young girl, about three, a boy, about two, and a man. The boy looked at Kai with distrust, but both the girl and the man seemed happy that she had awakened._

"_Well, good morning," the man said. "I am Yashamaru. Who are you?" Kai didn't answer, because at that time, she heard a baby crying. The child's cries seemed oddly familiar to her._

"_Answer him," the boy said._

"_Easy, Kankuro," Yashamaru said. "After all, she is our guest. Your father said so." Kankuro mumbled what sounded like a sorry, and Yashamaru left the room. Kai followed Yashamaru, wanting to see the baby. When they got to the room, Kai saw the young boy, and immediately felt as though the boy were her own child. Even though she was only six years old in her body, her mind was far older, and once she had mothered a child._

_The child was a boy with lovely pale skin, and red hair coming over his head. Kai went over to him and picked him up, putting her finger in his little grasp. Suddenly, to the shock of those present, the baby stopped crying and sucked happily on Kai's finger. Soon, he had fallen asleep, and the family cringed, as if expecting an attack. When none came, they were surprised._

"_How did you do that?" the three-year-old girl asked. "Gaara cannot go to sleep or his demon will rampage." Even Yashamaru didn't know how Kai did what she had done, but for Kankuro, it only increased his distrust of her._

"_I am sure he is problem sometimes, but I doubt he is demon," Kai said. "Maybe he just needs little love. Are you his father?" Yashamaru laughed._

"_No dear," he said. "I am his uncle. His father runs this village."_

"_What about his mom?"_

"_His mother died giving birth to him." Kai looked down at the child who slept in her arms._

"_Aww, that is so sad," Kai said. "Everyone needs mother." She smiled at the sleeping child. "Gaara, what beautiful name." The baby, as though recognizing his name, stirred lightly in Kai's arms. Kai smiled at the child. "You are so handsome, Gaara-chan. Probably look just like your dad." At that, Kankuro snorted. Kai glared at Kankuro, and then began playfully nibbling at Gaara's hand. Yashamaru laughed at the girl, and wondered again why Gaara's demon didn't attack her. Then, as Kai sat in a rocking chair in the corner with Gaara and began singing a lullaby to him, he pushed the young girl and Kankuro out the door. Before leaving though, the girl poked her head back in and said-_

"_My name is Temari, by way." Then she left Kai alone with Gaara, and softly, Kai sang to Gaara in his sleep._

* * *

Kai wondered if Gaara was still in the village. She had always felt like a mother to him. Perhaps it was because she spent so much time with him. Anyway, she had always thought he was adorable.

As Kikoha led the group to the Kazekage's office, she began to grow hopeful that Gaara was still in the village. The Kazekage looked the same, and he was Gaara's father, so Gaara must be there. Kikoha bowed to the Kazekage.

"What?" he asked the boy. Kikoha began explaining to the Kazekage who the group said they were. After he had finished, the Kazekage sent Kikoha home and turned to the three. Jason shook, thinking that they would be killed. Ukobi stood stock-still. Only Kai seemed to have no worries.

"Welcome back, Kai-chan," the Kazekage said, and both Ukobi's and Jason's mouths dropped. "I trust you had good reason for lying to Kikoha."


	6. Gaara and Kai

**A/N: **I hope that the advent Naruto fans, of which I consider myself one, will forgive me this one thing. While I know that the episodes consider the sand protection a side effect of Gaara being possessed by Shukaku, I have found another way to explain the protection. Also, even though, the English series considers Shukaku like Gaara's mother, I know that it is really a boy, and Gaara only calls it mother because of when Yashamaru said that the sand was like a mother protecting him, so in my story, I have Shukaku a boy.

Another thing, (more translation clarification here) you can just generally assume that, when Kai is speaking to Ukobi and Jason, she's speaking in English, but when she speaks to natural Naruto characters, or village natives, she speaks in Japanese. Jason and Ukobi also speak Japanese to the characters and villagers. The characters and natives will always be speaking in Japanese, which because of this note (which you all read I hope) you will know without me telling you each time. Probably Ukobi will be the only one I tell you when he speaks in Japanese because his is so halting and he knows so little, so that way you'll know when the characters understand him.

Chapter 5: Gaara and Kai

"What does he mean?" Ukobi sputtered in English. "What did he say?"

"I told you not to talk Ukobi," Kai said smiling.

"Did he just call you Kai?" Jason asked. "But your name's Raila." Kai smiled at him.

"Remember I told you I was here before?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jason said.

"When I was here before, I went by a different name."

"What name?" Ukobi asked.

"Kai, obviously," Jason responded.

"Are you speaking English Kai-chan?" the Kazekage asked. Kai nodded. "Interesting. You look different now then you did last time I saw you; however, since you took such care of my son, I could not possible forget you, even though you left so quickly."

"Left? Why?" Ukobi asked, now deciding to speak in Japanese.

"It was long time ago," Kai said.

* * *

_After she had been in Sunagakure for a month, Kai began to want to travel again. She wanted to go back to Konoha and see how the people there were doing. At that time, though, she took young Gaara out with her through the village everyday. For some reason people avoided her, but she didn't care as long as she was with the baby. He was the reason she hadn't left yet. She didn't want to leave Gaara. Sometimes she spoke to Gaara, feeling like he would understand._

"_It is not that I do not want to take you with me," she said. "It is just that your father will not let me." The child looked at her as though he understood. One day, when she was out with Gaara, some older kids were standing to the side of where she was sitting, whispering about Gaara._

"_Is that it?" one of the kids asked. The kid was a boy with short brown hair._

"_Yep," answered another, a blonde boy. "He had demon put into him and killed his mother when he was born."_

"_I heard it attacks people when it goes to sleep," said a girl who was sitting with them._

"_Wonder why that girl is always with it?" said the boy with brown hair. "She is probably suicidal."_

"_Or maybe she is evil like child," the blonde boy said._

"_That child deserves to die," said the girl. Then Kai, angry at what the group had said, stood up and went over to them._

"_Everyone deserves life," she said. "He could not help what happened when he was born. Now you take that back." The boys stood up, towering over her._

"_Or what?" asked the boy with brown hair._

"_Or I will teach you lesson about life," Kai said. The boy looked her up and down as though sizing her up. Then, all three burst out laughing._

"_You? What can you do?" Kai was very angry now. They shouldn't treat Gaara like that. She gently sat the baby onto the grass a few feet away from the three older kids. The child started crying as soon as she put it down, but she had to repay these kids. She jumped onto the one with brown hair and started beating him up._

"_Do you like to be hurt?" she said as she pounded his face in. "Even babies understand pain! No one likes to be hurt!" For a second, the others looked as though they didn't know what to do; then, they pulled Kai off the boy._

"_Never do that again," the boy sputtered after he had stood up. "I should punch you myself."_

"_Do it then, if you are so brave," Kai said, and then she spat in his face. The boy was furious now. He pulled back his fist, getting ready to take Kai up on that offer, when suddenly, it seemed as though he had a better idea. He looked at the girl and held his hand out for a kunai. Then he walked over to Gaara._

"_Since you seem to love this thing so much, let us see how you act when it is dead," the boy said. The child cried even harder. "After all, I am sure Yashamaru-sensei will not miss him, and I think Kazekage-sama will not care. He has been telling the guards that he thinks this child was bad idea anyway." He picked up Gaara and aimed the knife at his heart._

"_No!" Kai cried. Then she began speaking in Spanish, the birth tongue of the Demon of the Fangs. "Gaara-chan, I won't let you die. By the power of my life, and the blood that I have, I send part of my spirit to live within you, to protect you from death and pain. No one will kill you, for I will protect you. By my love you will not die." Then, a fog seemed to leave Kai and flow into Gaara. As the knife came down, what she had done became evident. Sand from the ground flew beneath the knife, keeping it from piercing Gaara. Repeatedly the boy tried to attack Gaara, but the barrier kept protecting him. Gaara could not be hurt. In anger, the boy threw Gaara to the ground, but the sand surrounded him, lessening the impact. The baby stopped crying, now reaching for Kai. The older kids suddenly were afraid of Kai, and dropped her to the ground._

_Kai went over and picked Gaara up. He cooed softly in her arms, and she couldn't help but smile at him._

"_Everyone deserves second chance," she said. "Remember that forever, Gaara-chan." As she comforted Gaara, she rushed back to the house, where she left him in the crib. A few days later, Kai packed her bags and left Sunagakure. She promised to return to see Gaara when he was older._

* * *

"I had to move on, so I left," Kai said after finishing her story.

"So you are reason Gaara can do that," the Kazekage mumbled to himself.

"Wow," Ukobi said. "So what did you do?"

"Is it not obvious?" Jason asked, also deciding to speak in Japanese.

"No," Ukobi said.

"She sent some of her spirit into baby and protected it from death." Ukobi stared blankly at Jason.

"What did you say?" he asked after a while. Jason repeated what he said in English, and Ukobi nodded dumbly. "And that is obvious?" he asked, back to speaking Japanese.

"So," the Kazekage asked. "I suppose you returned to Suna to see Gaara, then?" Kai nodded.

"Do you think he remembers me?" she asked.

"I do not think so," the Kazekage said. "He was just baby at that time." Kai's face fell. "But that is not to say you cannot see him. We still live in same house, so if you go by, you will find him, but more likely is that he will find you. Especially with your friends."

"Hey," Ukobi cried.

"I mean, they are clearly not from Sunagakure."

"I will protect them, Kazekage-sama," Kai said as she bowed slightly. Then she left the building to find the home of Gaara. As they left, the Kazekage called one of the other men in the room to him.

"Make sure that Gaara attacks them," he said. "Perhaps if he, Kankuro, and Temari kill Kai, then sand will stop protecting him." The man nodded and was soon on his way to find the kids.


	7. Suffix Translation

Interrupt for Translation

Some of you who do not speak Japanese may be wondering about the suffixes that I add to the end of most names. Here is your explanation.

-san: The most common ending, often termed as Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms. Is generally accepted in any situation.

-kun: Refers to a peer or someone under you. This term is most commonly used to refer to boys, but can be used for either gender. (I will only use it in reference to boys.) Also can be a term of affection for a boy if a girl uses it, however, this is not a set rule. For example, Kai uses -kun in reference to all males of near age to her, with the exception of Gaara, because she considers him like a child.

-chan: A term of endearment, often used in reference to females or young children. This is why Kai calls Gaara "Gaara-chan" in the flashbacks (because he is a baby) Sometimes the use can be mocking, being similar to calling someone a child.

-sama: A term of respect used in either great politeness, or in reference to a lord or ruler. Also can be used for someone in great power.

-Sensei: Teacher, or literally "one who was born before." Generally used when a child is referring to an adult over them.

Not adding a suffix: only acceptable if you are really close to the person you are referring to, or if the person is your subordinate. Even then, this can be considered rude. Jason and Ukobi never add a suffix simply because they don't understand the rules behind it. They are not being rude; they are simply ignorant.

There will be times that I simply do not put endings on a name. This is not to indicate a lack of respect, but rather, in the interest of character accuracy. Most of Kishimoto Masashi's characters do not add suffixes when referring to each other, so for characters who never add suffixes to a name, they will not in my story. Kai will always add a suffix to names though, simply because she is polite.

Other endings you'll see:

-ku: Raila's personal term of endearment for her friends. She uses it in reference most often to Gai, but sometimes adds it to Anko's name, and also adds it to Kai's name. At one point, she calls herself Rai-ku, but it is merely for the sake of rhyming. This will not occur until later in the story.


	8. Reunion

Chapter 6: Reunion

Kai walked through Sunagakure with her partners. For some reason, Ukobi felt very uneasy. He kept glancing over his shoulder waiting for an attack to come. It did.

"Ambush!" Jason yelled. He grabbed Kai and Ukobi, trying to pull them behind a building as the sand flew in the wind surrounding them. As they ran, the three dropped to the ground for different reasons. Ukobi's feet flew out from under him, and Jason was slammed in the back by a large gust of wind, which felt like swords being pushed into his back. Kai was held fast by sand beneath her feet, and as she stood there, she looked around, seeing their attackers for the first time.

"Gaara-chan?" she whispered to herself. "Is it-?" Jason saw her face, and to him, her shock looked like fear.

"Raila! Run!" he shouted, and she did begin running, after a moment.

"Not that way!" Ukobi shouted, as she began running towards her attackers. She had startled the person controlling the sand that held her still, so she managed to break free. She couldn't believe her eyes, seeing the boy who had led the attack against her team. She burst through the boy and girl who stood to the right and left, a little forward, from the boy, and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Ukobi and the boy himself gasped in surprise. Jason, along with the boy's partners, merely watched what would happen, for it was clear to Jason that people didn't actually hug this boy. As the boy raised his arms beneath Kai's, all of the others gasped in fear and took a step back.

"She is dead," Ukobi whispered.

"You said it," the boy's male teammate agreed. Then, the boy that Kai had hugged actually hugged her back. The others relaxed, except for Jason and Ukobi.

"I wanted to kill you," the boy whispered in Kai's ear. "But something inside me stopped me." Suddenly, the boy's female teammate spoke.

"Who are you?" she asked Kai. "And how can you hug Gaara without him totally killing you?"

"Gaara-chan," Kai whispered again. "My sweet Gaara-chan." She put a hand on Gaara's head as she turned to face the girl. "You were only three then, so you would not remember me, but you knew me by name of Kai." Instant recognition of that name showed on the girl's face.

"Is that so, Kai?" the girl asked.

"Yes, Temari-san, it is me," Kai answered.

"You only look sixteen. How? I mean, you are eighteen, or supposed to be anyway." Kai laughed at Temari, and chose not to actually answer her questions. Instead, she turned back to Gaara. The other boy spoke.

"Still as disrespectful as you ever were," he said. Kai sighed and turned to him. Then she went up to him and hugged him too, but no sooner had she touched him then he had thrown her to the ground. Ukobi noticed this, for he made a remark.

"Are you gay?" he asked in English, not knowing the Japanese for what he wanted to say. Kai translated what Ukobi had asked, and when the other boy angrily shook his head, Ukobi continued. "Because, while I don't think Raila's totally hot, Kitty holds that place, I still wouldn't throw her to the ground if she decided to hug me for no apparent reason." Another translation, and then the boy answered Ukobi.

"I do not like her or trust her," the boy said.

"Then why did you complain for me not greeting you, Kankuro-kun?" Kai asked, sighing lightly.

"I only meant that you never answered Temari's question. I was not complaining, if that is what you thought. Not at all." Kankuro continued to glare at Kai, even when she had turned back to Gaara again.

"Are you sure you are not gay?" Ukobi asked, saying the question himself because he had caught the word for gay from Kai's translation earlier.

"I am sure," Kankuro answered, tight lipped.

"Then why do you wear make-up?" Kankuro sputtered in shock and anger.

"I-IT IS WAR PAINT, NOT-NOT MAKE-UP!" he finally managed to spit out. Ukobi shrugged his response, not understanding what Kankuro said, but assuming it was bad.

"Looks like make-up to me," he said.

"I cannot believe you have grown so much, my little Gaara-chan," Kai said, and at that, everyone grew silent in order to listen to what she said. She took her hands from each side of Gaara's face, which was where she had them, to his shoulders. Then, because she could see that he was becoming uncomfortable with her familiar contact, she took her hands off him completely. "Let us go home," she whispered. As she walked away with Gaara, Temari and Kankuro following closely behind, Ukobi spoke with Jason, returning to English.

"Dude," he said. "She acts like she's his mother."

"I think she is," Jason replied. "Remember the story?" Ukobi took a moment to comprehend this.

"NO WAY," he shouted. "SHE AND HE ARE ONLY A FEW YEARS APART, IF THAT." Suddenly, Gaara stopped, and turned to Ukobi. He looked at him like he was crazy, and then turned back to the path. As Ukobi looked at Gaara, though, he began to put the clues together, or so he thought.

"Evil glare, black eye make-up, tattoo that looks like blood, and everyone's afraid of him. DUDE! You are totally demon worshiper." The last phrase had been spoken in Japanese to Gaara.

"Word that you want is Satanist," Kai said absentmindedly, but Gaara stiffened in indignation.

"I am not Satanist," he said, barely loud enough for Ukobi to hear. "And never call me that again." Then, he walked away with the others, and Ukobi had no choice but to follow Jason as he followed the group.

* * *

At Gaara's home, later that night, Ukobi sat on the floor with his arms crossed. Earlier, he had listened to Kai asking Temari about Yashamaru, only understanding about half of what was said. Then, getting tired of that, he began asking Kankuro about Kai's childhood, trying to learn something about her. When he asked about her relationship to Gaara, the only thing Kankuro said was that she wasn't his birth mother, but she had always acted like she was. During that time, Gaara was with Master Baki doing no-one-knew-what. Now, though, Gaara and Baki had returned, and Gaara was on the roof, or at least, that was what Temari had said. Baki was in the other room, probably asleep.

"There is no way that I am sleeping in same house with Satanist who could kill me in his sleep," Ukobi said, his arms still crossed.

"Do not worry," Kankuro said as he helped Temari lay out sleeping mats for the guests. "Gaara does not sleep."

"That does not help!" Ukobi cried, jumping up. "That means that he is awake when I am asleep. That is worse."

"He stays on our roof," Temari said. "As long as you quit calling him Satanist, he will not hurt you."

"Okay," Ukobi said skeptically. He took his shirt off and pulled his pants halfway down before he remembered that Temari and Kai were still in the room. Blushing crimson, he jerked his pants back on and ran to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Jason took off the layers of his shirt and folded them neatly before putting them beside his pillow. He didn't take his pants off like Ukobi had started to. Ukobi returned from the bathroom with water in his hair and lay down on his sleeping mat.

"There is no way that I am going to sleep with sa- uh, Gaara here," he said. "I cannot. It is imposs-" His claims were interrupted by him snoring, having fallen sound asleep. Kai laughed at Ukobi as she followed Temari to her room. Then she spread out her mat, laid down on it, and tried to go to sleep.


	9. Lonely

**A/N: **Of course, Ukobi is too stupid to think of calling Gaara a Satanist in English…he will get in so much trouble for that.

Chapter 7: Lonely

Kai never was able to go to sleep, so about midnight, she sat up in her bed, wondering what she should do. Because Temari was asleep, and Kai didn't want to wake her, Kai quietly left the room and went outside. Once outside, she leaned back against the building wall. As she stood there, she began to hear someone talking on the roof, so she climbed onto it. There, she saw Gaara, sitting on the other end of the roof with his arms wrapped around his knees, quietly mumbling to himself. Kai felt a pain of pity in her heart, and suddenly, she wanted to talk to the boy. She walked quietly up behind him, but he must have heard her because he stood up and pushed her onto the roof with one hand while holding the cork to his sand gourd in the other. In an instant, Kai was up to her waist in sand.

"As much as I would like to kidnap you and take you away from here," Kai said nervously trying to calm Gaara down. "I was not planning on it." After a clear effort to control himself, Gaara pulled the sand back into his gourd, put the cork back in it, and sat down with his knees hanging off the edge of the roof. Kai went over to him and sat down beside him.

"Gaara-chan," she whispered. "How often do you come up here? How many nights do you stay alone?" Gaara didn't answer her. "How many girls are after you, baby?" she said teasing slightly. They sat together for a short time.

"I wish you would not do that," Gaara said suddenly. Kai blinked, confused.

"Do what?"

"Call me baby, and Gaara-chan. I am not little kid, and it is insulting." Kai put a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her smile.

"I did not mean to insult you," Kai said. "I always called you that when you were baby, and it just stuck." Then she put her finger under Gaara's chin and lifted his head up. "But I promise, you can tell everyone else not to call you that." Gaara turned his back to her.

"They would not dare," he said. Kai put her hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"You know, you remind me of my son."

"Really. Do not do that."

"Do what." Gaara brushed her hand off his shoulder.

"I do not normally let people touch me." She nodded.

"I see. But yes, you look very much like him."

"Oh."

"So why do you let me?"

"Let you what?"

"Touch you."

"I do not know," he responded after several minutes. "I just feel something different with you, like I already know you. Like I said, something inside me stops me from hurting you, like it is protecting _you_."

"I am confused."

"Me too." Gaara sighed. Kai giggled.

"Maybe," she teased. "It is because you are in love with me." Gaara looked at her, shocked.

"I do not love anyone," he said. "I am Demon who Loves Only Himself."

"Aww, come on, Gaara-chan. Everyone deserves second chance."

"That…I have heard that before." Kai smiled.

"You remembered."

"What do you mean? Mother says her mother told her."

"You remember your mother?" Kai asked confused.

"Not my real mother. Mother who is responsible for sand protecting me."

"You do remember me then!" She jumped up and grabbed both Gaara's shoulders, shocking him.

"N-no," he said. "I do not remember you. I meant mother as in Demon that lives inside me." Kai's eyes opened wide.

"You have demon inside you? That is funny. I am Demon." She said the last part laughing though, so Gaara thought that she was kidding. "What is your Demon's name?"

"Shukaku." Kai stopped, shocked by this news, but before Gaara could see her surprise, she covered it. Then, she realized that he had called Shukaku 'Mother' and began laughing. "What is so funny?"

"I hate to tell you this Gaara-chan, but Shukaku-chan is boy."

"Really. Yashamaru said it was like my mother protecting me."

"Well, Yashamaru-san is wrong."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know story of Shukaku's birth." This caught Gaara's interest.

"Really? Can you tell me?"

"Sure."

* * *

Thousands of years ago, in land of Americas, when Indians were only people there, magical creatures lived in spirits of animals. There was one animal, called "El Demonio del Colmillo" or Demon of Fangs. Today it would be called snake. During day, this demon would be frightening creature, but at night, it was beautiful young woman. Woman was called "Mujer de peligro" or Woman of Danger, for she made men fall in love with her, and then, led them to their grave.

One night, when she was prowling home of American natives, she was seen by Indian Chief, and he instantly fell in love with her outward beauty. He told all of his warriors to catch this beauty, so that she might be his, but Mujer de Peligro could not be caught, unless she wanted to. Demon herself was married to another demon, his name being "Hombre Caza" or Hunting Man. By day, he lived as fierce tiger.

One night, Mujer de Peligro conceived child by Hombre Caza. This child she called Niño Mapache, or Raccoon Child. Sadly, day after she conceived, Indian Chief, who had fallen in love with her, found out about her marriage, and resolved to kill her husband and have her for himself. He called his warriors again and told them to find Tiger that housed the spirit of Hombre Caza and to kill creature.

After many days of searching, they found and killed tiger. Because of this, Mujer de Peligro was angry, and she ran through village of chief, killing all who lived there. Nevertheless, this did not return her love to her, and she grieved his death whole time until Niño Mapache was born. When child came out, she had to give him up to El Demonio Rey, Demon King. King changed child's name to Shukaku, though no one knew why, and raised him, hiding him from her even until this day.

* * *

"Hmm," Gaara said. "So he was unloved, same as I was." Kai shook her head.

"His mother loved him. But she also loved her husband very much."

"Love makes you weak. I do not love anyone but myself."

"What is point of living, if you have no one else to live for? That is what love is, reason to keep living." He shook his head, and again, Kai felt pity for him.

"Shukaku's mother was depressed during his birth, and could not take care of him, so she gave him to someone who could," she said. Gaara shrugged, and Kai had to laugh. "I love you Gaara-chan," she said. Then she laid her head on Gaara's lap and closed her eyes. Thinking she was asleep, Gaara asked her-

"How can you love me?" In her thoughts, Kai answered, _That's what mothers are for._


	10. Accusations

**A/N-** While Raila never learned any jutsus, because her family left when she was just four, Kai has been living in Japan for a while now. I'll admit, Kai seems really mean in the legend she told, but she has changed over the years and has become a much nicer person now. Hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 8: Accusations

Ukobi woke up early the next morning. He stumbled to the bathroom, almost tripping over Jason in the process.

"Ow," he cried as he ran into the bathroom door, not noticing it was closed because his eyes were closed. He tugged on the door handle but found it locked, so he started beating on the door with his fist. "Open the door," he cried. "Please." At first, no one answered. Then he remembered that these people spoke Japanese, so he repeated the phrase in Japanese. Kankuro opened the door, and Ukobi, who was now leaning on the door, nearly fell into the bathroom. Kankuro looked at Ukobi, his war paint halfway on, and then closed the door again. Ukobi stood up and started beating on the door again.

"What do you want?" Kankuro asked from behind the door.

"To go pee," Ukobi mumbled in response. Angrily, Kankuro yanked open the door, again nearly putting Ukobi on his face, and stormed out of the bathroom, mumbling about strangers taking over the house. After relieving himself, Ukobi got dressed, ran water over his hand, and pushed the fingers through his hair, messing it up more than actually fixing it. He returned to the main room to find Jason just getting a new shirt on. Because Jason left his gel in his suitcase, which was back at the entrance gate, his hair laid down on one side. Ukobi was more than ready to leave, so he went straight to Temari's room in order to wake up Kai. When he got there, though, he found a mat that looked like it hadn't been slept in, and no Kai. Frantic, he immediately blamed Gaara for her disappearance.

"Satanist kidnapped Raila!" he shouted in English, again forgetting the Japanese. Temari poked her head up, still half asleep.

"What?" she asked, yawning. Ukobi shook his head and commanded his brain, _Japanese. Japanese. Think Japanese._ He repeated what he had said again. "Raila? Oh, you must mean Kai?" After a second of thought, Ukobi nodded. "I think she went up onto roof last night." She lied back down, and then added as an afterthought, "And Gaara is not Satanist." But he didn't hear her.

"Roof," he said, getting the Japanese first time. "Is that not where Satanist is?" Temari sat up in the bed, annoyed.

"Gaara is not Satanist, but yes, he was there. Why?" Ukobi looked at her, his eyes wide.

"I must go to save her," he cried. "Satanist kid will kill her."

"Gaara is not Satanist," Temari shouted after him as he left the room for the rooftop. Once Ukobi reached the roof, he found Kai lying across Gaara's lap.

"You killed her!" he said. Gaara laid Kai on the roof and stood up to face him.

"I never touched her," he said quietly. Then Ukobi saw that Kai was still breathing.

"She is not dead," he said, sighing in relief. "You knocked her unconscious."

"I never touched her. She is asleep."

"I do not believe you. You hit her."

"I NEVER TOUCHED HER!" As he yelled, sand flew from his gourd, almost, but not quiet, reaching where Ukobi was. Ukobi screamed in fear, and Jason pulled himself onto the roof.

"What is happening?" he asked as Ukobi crouched behind him.

"Sa-" Ukobi stopped when he saw the look of pure hatred in Gaara's eyes. "Gaara," he quickly corrected. "Gaara is going to kill me." Through a clear effort of self-control, Gaara pulled the sand back into his gourd.

"I do not want to hurt one of Kai's friends," he said. "But you are tempting me." Ukobi pointed to Kai, who was stirring lightly on the rooftop.

"Satanist kid hit Raila," he said to Jason. Gaara started shaking furiously.

"I did not touch her," he said through clenched teeth.

"And how am I supposed to believe you?"

"Ask Kai?" Jason said. "She is awake now." Indeed, Kai was awake.

"Ask me what?" she said rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Why were you up here with Satanist?" Ukobi asked. "Did he threaten you? Did he hurt you?"

"No, I came up here to talk with him," she said.

"I told you I did not touch her," Gaara said quietly. Ukobi blushed, suddenly embarrassed over how he had treated Gaara.

"Hey, I am sorry," he said nervously. "No hard feelings, right?" He extended his hand, but Gaara only looked at it, then jumped off the roof and went inside. Kai followed him, and after a moment, so did Jason and Ukobi. Once inside, Kai turned to Temari, who had just come out of her room.

"What are we doing today?" she asked.

"We are training for Chunin Exams," Temari answered.

"Chunin Exams?" Ukobi asked.

"It is test for genin to become chunin," Temari said, but Ukobi clearly had no clue.

"Where are they?" Kai asked.

"Konoha. Why?"

"Well, we are leaving tomorrow and I wanted plans for where to go. Konoha sounds good." For a second, this didn't register with any of the others; then they all started speaking at once.

"You are finally leaving?"

"Why do we have to go?"

"Where is Konoha?"

"What brought this on?"

As the questions continued, Kai noticed that only Gaara was silent. In fact, he seemed upset, so Kai went over to him.

"Do not worry," she told him. "I promise I will come back." Gaara just looked at her. Finally, he said-

"Who says I am worried. In fact, I do not care." Kai just looked at him for a while, until she was brought back into the conversation by Kankuro's next words.

"I want to fight you three," he said. Ukobi blinked, Jason's mouth hung open, and Kai raised an eyebrow.

"You want to fight us?" Kai finally said.

"Yes. One on one battles. Me versus Jason, Temari versus Ukobi, and you versus Gaara." Kai looked nervously at her teammates, but it was Ukobi who spoke first.

"What is he saying?" he asked. Jason translated, and Ukobi stood there with his mouth open. "So… American with no training, girl who thinks she is mom, and me, world's best Japanese boy, are going to fight make-up obsessed boy, Satanist with issues, and girl who is burning up, respectively."

"What do you mean girl who is burning up," Temari said at the same time Kankuro said, "IT IS WAR PAINT," which was also the same time Kai said, "Gaara is not Satanist." Ukobi took a moment to separate the questions, then, thinking he had them right, answered the three questions in order, turning to each person as he said them.

"You are burning up because you carry four foot tall fan. It still looks like make-up to me. And, I am sorry, but he looks like Satanist."

"How," Kai asked.

"Eye-liner, which is totally war paint and not make-up."

"That is not eye-liner," Temari sighed. "Gaara has never slept in his life, well, except when Kai-chan was here before."

"That is not possible, so it must be make-up…war paint."

"Gaara has demon inside him, so he has to stay awake, or it will take him over."

"See, demon equals Satanist."

"HE IS NOT SATANIST SO CUT IT OUT!!" Ukobi just shrugged. Kai turned to apologize to Gaara, but he wasn't there. She didn't know, but he had left shortly after Kankuro had asked to fight them.

"See what you did," she said to Ukobi. "You insulted him, and now he left."

"Not my fault," Ukobi said apologetically, in English. "I didn't mean it."

"Come on," Temari said. "Let us see it we find him going to training grounds." The others nodded and followed as Temari led the way.


	11. Confusion

**A/N-** There are actually going to be a lot of interludes in this story, to either show things that will help the story make more sense, or to give an idea of the reason behind a characters actions. This is the later: an inner conflict Gaara has right after he left in the last chapter. This might be helpful to some of you.

Interlude 1: Confusion

GAARA: Why do I care so much about Kai? It is not like she really cares about me. I should just kill her now.

SHUKAKU: No Gaara, you should not kill her. I like her.

GAARA: But you never liked anyone before, so why are you making exception for this girl that you never seen before in your life.

SHUKAKU: She took care of you as baby, Gaara. Besides, she knows truth about me.

GAARA: But that does not explain why you like her? She could be lying, just like Yashamaru did when he said he loved me.

SHUKAKU: Look, I just know her. Besides, she has shown that she trusts you.

GAARA: She might just be setting me up for kill.

SHUKAKU: She is kind and loving person.

GAARA: She does not even know you!

SHUKAKU: She knows me better than you do. You may not want to admit this to yourself, but you felt connection first time you saw her. You know she is telling truth. She really does love us.

GAARA: No, she does not. She is just using us, lying to us. Did you just hear her say that she is leaving?

SHUKAKU: We both know she cannot stay forever, especially not when she had American traveling with her.

GAARA: If she truly loved us, then she would stay and let other two leave without her. How can we trust that she will ever come back?

SHUKAKU: So you do care. You were lying to her when you said you did not.

GAARA: No, I was not.

SHUKAKU: Tell me honestly that you do not care if she stays or leaves, if that is what you mean.

GAARA: …

SHUKAKU: See, you cannot say it. You feel same thing I do. Let her live, you will see truth soon enough.

GAARA: Stop it, mother. STOP!

SHUKAKU: I am guy. She told you this. But I know truth of your feelings because I am part of you.


End file.
